E Komo mai! Welcome to my blog! A creative space to capture what inspires the good things in life! Thanks for stopping by, wherever this journey may take us-- from seashells to snowflakes to the many adventures that lie ahead.

Tabs

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Baby Survival Mechanism

I seriously LOVE our baby. But who doesn't love their baby? The fortunate thing for babies, is that their parents are chemically hardwired to think their baby is the cutest and best baby in the world. I think it's a baby survival mechanism so they won't starve to death or be left all alone. Therefore, my baby is the cutest and best baby in the world.
(don't worry--I'm sure yours is, too)
When Jonah first came out, he cried and screamed for several hours, off and on. We couldn't console him very well, and it was frustrating. We could tell he was angry about something, and no amount of soft words and warm breast would calm him down.
Our midwife thought it was because he experienced some slight birth trauma. The average length of an umbilical cord is 18 inches long, and for some (unknown) reason the cord that connected Jonah and I, was 8 inches. So, squeezing himself out of the birth canal, she noticed that his left shoulder was tucked downwards so the cord wouldn't tear. Turns out, baby Jonah entered the world with a sore shoulder. Poor sad, sore baby.
Now he is 3 1/2 months old. I haven't heard him scream like that, since those first hours he was here. He is the sweetest, quietest, most gentle baby I've ever known. His name means "peaceful dove", and it describes him perfectly. Of course, he's perfectly allowed to scream if he's upset; baby survival mechanism again.